The Memorial of Ambrose Ramsey, Nath. Rochester and William JohnstonSHEWETH.

That your Memorialist with Dr. Thomas Burke, were appointed Commissioners by the Congress that sat at Halifax in April one thousand seven hundred and seventy-sixty, to establish a Gun manufactory in the District of Hillsboro; and for this purpose received one thousand pounds. But from the difficulty of procuring workmen & other causes, they found it impracticable to follow the intentions of Congress in their full extent.

They were ordered to make two hundred muskets, and were limited to one thousand pounds, a sum they found insufficient even for the purpose of buying them, and much more so for erecting works and making them. Therefore, after some time had elapsed in fruitless attempts to find workmen, they resolved to lay out the money as far as it would go, in employing Smiths to make them at their own shops. Accordingly as the most expeditious method,, they employed one to make barrels, and another to make bayonets, ramrods & mounting; and at length they found a Smith who undertook to bore the barrels, stock them & complete the muskets for which purpose your memorialist erected a house for a shop, & a boring machine at a creek on Dr. Burke's land about a year ago, but the stream soon thereafter failing & remaining ever since almost dry, they have never from that time been able to proceed further.

They here annex a note of the articles already procured and the money disbursed, and as the balance now in their hands is quite insufficient to finish what they have begun, especially as it will be necessary to erect new works on another stream, & carry the boring machine there, they desire to be advised by the Honble. Assembly what to do; and as they are told this State is now well

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provided with muskets, they submit it to the consideration of the Assembly, whether or not it would be better to sell off the whole materials which they believe would indemnify the State for all disbursements.

NATH. ROCHESTER,

WM JOHNSTON.

AMBROSE RAMSAY.

The State of North Carolina in Acct. with the Commissioners of Hillsborough District Gun manufactory